Georgia Studies Unit 3 Revolution Statehood and Westward

Georgia Studies Unit 3 – Revolution, Statehood, and Westward Expansion Lesson 2 – The Revolutionary War Period Study Presentation

Lesson 2 – The Revolutionary War Period • ESSENTIAL QUESTION – What role did Georgia and its citizens play in the American Revolution?

First Continental Congress • Many of the British colonies in North America had began to protest taxation as long as they were not represented in British Parliament. • 12 of the 13 colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress; Georgia was not represented. • Urged colonies to establish “Committees of Safety” • Agreed to stop all trade with Britain (boycott) • Carried on its work in secret • “Provincial Congress” held in Savannah in January 1775; less than one-half of Georgia’s parishes were represented

Second Continental Congress • Met in Philadelphia after Lexington and Concord battles in Massachusetts • Drafted petition for King George III, asking for end of unfriendly steps against the colonies • George III refused to accept the petition • Authorized Continental Army • Georgia’s Lyman Hall arrived in May 1775 • August 2, 1776: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton (representatives from Georgia) sign the Declaration of Independence

Georgia’s Second Provincial Congress • Held at Tondee’s Tavern in Savannah in July 1775 • Archibald Bulloch, John Houstoun, Noble Wimberly Jones, and Reverend John Zubly chosen to represent Georgia in Philadelphia • Delegates given no specific instructions; told to make best decisions for Georgians • Governor Wright fled colony in early 1776; Council of Safety established “Rules and Regulations” to govern Georgia

Revolutionary War Fighting in Georgia • Georgia was divided between patriots (people that were rebelling against Great Britain; fighting for freedom) and loyalists (people that remained loyal to Great Britain). • Savannah captured and looted by British troops in December 1778; lootings, murders, and burnings occurred • Sunbury port captured in early 1779; Augusta was also attacked • Georgia militia not effective against well-trained British troops. French military leaders and reinforcements were brought in to train and assist the Continental Army. • Governor Wright eventually returned from Great Britain to govern Georgia. Continued to govern from Savannah until 1783.

Battle of Kettle Creek (1779) • Colonel Elijah Clarke led Georgia militia, defeated 800 British troops near Washington, Georgia • Great victory for morale of the militia and Georgians seeking independence • Won badly-needed weapons and horses from the British

Siege of Savannah (1779) • 15, 000 Americans and 4, 000 French laid siege to Savannah • Attack on October 9 resulted in 1, 000 American and French deaths in less than an hour; only 40 British troops died • Polish Count Casimir Pulaski killed • Savannah remained under British control, and the leadership of James Wright, for nearly four more years • Guerrilla warfare (small scale fighting; sneak attacks) continued in the Georgia backcountry

Georgia Wartime Heroes • Nancy Hart single-handedly captured a group of British loyalists who bragged of murdering an American colonel; Hart County is the only county named for a woman • Austin Dabney fought with distinction and was wounded at Kettle Creek; he also saved Elijah Clarke’s life during that battle

The War Ends • Elijah Clarke, the Georgia Militia, and the Continental Army regain Augusta from British in June 1781; 11 battles or skirmishes fought in Georgia during the war • George Washington, with French help, force British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia in October 1781 • British leave Savannah in the spring of 1782 • Treaty of Paris (September 1783) ends war; treaty is signed by United States, Great Britain, and France